The Turning Point
by CherryCrush9
Summary: What happens when your whole life turns upside down? What happens when the one you've chosen is not the one you really want? Post 3x22. Rated M just for safety!
1. The Beginning

****_Hello, guys! So this is my first story written, ever. I've deleted it and posted it, around 5 times now, I am just nervous xD I am usually not that much into writing but I decided to give this one a shot, because I've had the idea since like.. forever. This is post 3x22 days after it, to be exact. It's a DE centered story, but it involves other characters as well, I've had this plot idea, and I want to show it as well. I don't know where I will go with this one or, even if it will go somewhere. Rated M for safety. :) _

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**Prologue**

Her long, light-purple dress was too heavy for her to carry. Her vision was blurred, she didn't know where she was. Her eyes were partly open, and she came to the realization that two men were holding her, so that she wouldn't fall down. Her brain slowly started to estimate the situation, but she felt like her mind was blank, her head was pounding. She looked around to see where she was. The place was dark, like it was under the ground, the walls were crude, and it smelled like dust. She was definitely under the ground, her brain was slowly, and painfully, starting to work properly again. Her arms and legs felt incredibly numb. And then she felt the burning fire in her throat, the thirst that she felt was eating her from the inside, wherever she was, whatever had happened to her she had been here for awhile, and had probably been injected with vervain. Just when she felt like this was all over.

„Oh, you're finally concious, lovely.", a man's voice was coming from behind her. She could recognize this voice everywhere, she was still hearing it in her dreams, in her nightmares.

„Klaus...", she heard her weak voice. „What are you..?", she had difficulties forming words.

„Shhh, darling, everything will be okay, I promise you.", his soothing voice was whispering in her ear. „Let her go!"

She felt the arms that had been holding her, gradually loosen their grip, until they let her go completely. Her body was so weak, she couldn't even stand on her feet. She never thought she could feel so weak again. After she turned, she thought her days as the damsel in distress were over.

Just before she would fall on the ground, two strong hands caught her.

"Oh don't you look just beautiful? I thought we should make this a little more special." She heard Klaus's voice clearer now. She was also starting to see through the blur. Klaus put her on a beautiful, a little vintage chair, and turned to face her. "Yes, they've done a great job." He said, with an evil smirk.

This was true. The light-purple dress was strapless, covering her curves perfectly, and outlining her small body. It was so long, it was falling on the ground. Her long, chocolate hair was falling heavily in big, loose curls. She even wore a little make up, that was the top of her whole outfit. What kind of a freak show was that?"

"How are you feeling? I am trying out this new 'recipe', so to call it, a mix of vervain, and some witch mojo?", he said, smiling. „Do you like it?", he snickered, barely able to contain his laughter.

"What is going on here?", Elena said, now a little more confident. She wasn't exactly in the mood for playing games now. "What do you want from me?"

Klaus's smile got even bigger as he said:

"I just want my doppelganger back."

Elena rose her brow. "What do you mean you want your doppelganger back? I am right here. And I am sure I am pretty useless now.", she smiled a little wickedly, now it was her turn to gloat.

Klaus's eyes locked on hers. He wasn't mad, he was actually amused by something.

"Okay, let me rephrase this.", his evil smirk was back. "I want my _human _doppelganger back."

He watched as her expression instantly changed. Fear was settling in her big, doe eyes. She wanted to become human again, more than anything in the world, but not like that. She refused to be someone else's puppet for the rest of her life. Not _again. _She made an attempt to run, knowing it wouldn't do anything; Klaus just laughed and pushed her back on the chair.

"How?", her voice was husky now.

"Oh you know, I've made a friend or two recently, and they gladly agreed to help. See, I need my army back, and I need to be bigger than ever, and this couldn't happen without your help, sweetie. And it's not like you had much to do. Same old story, switching the Salvatores. ", he grinned. "So I need the warm, human blood to be running in your veins again."

"How?", she repeated, in the same husky voice.

"With magic, of course.", He was whispering now, there was fire in his eyes, and Elena knew this fire well enough, it didn't mean anything good. "You would absolutely love this one, my love"

Elena's slowly improved hearing, picked up heels moving in the hallway, towards them. A female figure appeared in the 'room'. She recognized her. Or rather, she recognizes her appearance. The woman that was now standing before her, had nothing to do with how she remembered her. Her dark hair was straight, her clothes were entirely black. She wore big heels, tight leather pants, and a matching leather top. Her make-up was heavy as well. But the most shocking thing was her expression. It was cold, colder than she had even seen it. Her eyes were focused on her, but the love that was usually in them, was replaced by darkness.

"Bonnie…", she whispered in disbelief.

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**2 months earlier**

Elena stretched her hand slightly out of the curtain. The sun hurt her hand instantly, and she quickly pull it back. Her gums were aching, and her throat, oh god, her throat felt like it was going to explode. She didn't know how to endure this anymore. But she had made her choice. This needed to happen a long time ago. She was meant to die in that car, a year ago, with her parents, everything would have been so much easier.

"Lost in your suicidal thoughts again?", she recognized the mocking voice instantly. She would recognize it everywhere. It was the voice that was sending chills through her body every time she heard it. She turned and smiled at him.

"Damon, I thought we talked about this. I have already made up my mind, and nothing will change that. Not even you.", a weak smile crept on her face, as she saw how good he looked in his white t-shirt, that was perfectly outlining his abs, black jeans and boots. She shook her head, she wasn't supposed to think about him like that. She had already made her choice. It wasn't fair to him, or to his brother.

"I am not going to try and talk you out of it, again, I know how it feels to have your choice ripped away from you.", pain settled in his bright ocean-blue eyes. She knew how much it cost him to say this to her, and she appreciated it. "But I hope you know, there are people who need you here. Stefan, Jeremy, Caroline, Bonnie.." He stopped for a moment, he was considering saying something. "Me.", he finally said in a low voice.

Tears appeared in Elena's eyes. She knew how much she was hurting him. She knew how much she was hurting everybody. But this was the right thing to do. For once in her life, she knew that. But the pain that he was trying so hard to hide was unbearable, and she had to do something. She moved slowly and hugged him tight. He deserved this, at least this, right? Damon had sacrificed his life so many times for her, he had been there for her in the darkest moments of her life, he stayed even though this only brought him more pain. He definitely deserved was really stiff at first, she could say he was really surprised by her gesture. But then he relaxed and took her in his arms. He held her so tight, like she was the most precious thing on this world. His scent was intoxicating to her. She couldn't let him go, she knew the appropriate time for hugging someone had long passed, but she didn't care, she just couldn't let him go.

"Khum." Someone was standing at the door frame, watching them.

"Stefan!", Elena reluctantly let go of Damon, whipped the tears of her eyes, and looked at the green-eyed man before her.

"How are you feeling?", his voice was mild, but she could hear the guilt, he was trying to hide behind it.

"Fine, I am… fine.", she said with a slight smile.

"Okay.. okay." He didn't know what else he could say. She could see the guilt eating into him. " I am actually here for Damon. There has been an emergency, something about Klaus and Tyler. I didn't get what Caroline was saying through her sobs."

„Caroline was crying? What is happening, is she okay?", Elena's voice was full of worry. What was happening to her friend? Klaus? Wasn't he dead? Her head hurt from the effort to put everything before the accident back in place. She was getting weaker.

"Klaus? I thought the bastard died. Well, damn it, we couldn't have two minutes without a disaster, can we? What a fabulous life." Damon was back to his usual, sarcastic self, in less than a minute. And he was pissed. "Come on, let's go see what vampire Barbie has for us this time."

"Be safe.", Elena said, looking from one brother to the other.

"Death would be way too merciful for us.", Damon smiled cockily, but she knew that there was so much truth in his words.

The brothers left the boarding house and Elena was alone. It was physically hurting her that she wasn't there for her friend. The sun wouldn't burn her and turn her into ashes, since she wasn't technically a vampire, but she felt really awful walking in the broad sunlight. She swore she would visit Caroline tonight. She didn't know how much time she had, and she wanted to spent most of it with the ones she loved. She sighed and went downstairs. She could take a nap or write in her diary. Somehow writing in her diary didn't seem appealing to her now. She didn't know what she would write, which was weird considering her life was complicated enough to write a novel. Recently, every time she had tried to write something, words just wouldn't come out.

She heard a strange noise coming from the hallway. She turned quickly around, and she was face to face with the last person she felt like seeing right now. Her blond hair was falling to her shoulders. Her mouth was stretched in an evil grin.

"Rebekah, what are you doing here?", Elena said, feeling tired now.

"I have a treat for you.", she cocked her face to the side, the evil grin still on her face.

"I am not in the mood for playing games right now, please, I am tired plea-", Elena tried, but before she could finish her sentence Rebekah disappeared.

Elena's expression instantly froze as Rebekah appeared again in a matter of seconds. She was bringing someone with her. A girl, in her early teens. She had a dirty-blonde hair, and she was wearing jeans and a tank top. Her eyes were somehow blank, indicating she was probably compelled. There were two small holes on her neck, and blood was rushing out of them. She smelled it, it was the most delicious thing she had ever smelled. She could only imagine how much better it would taste. Her gums started to hurt, as she felt her fangs appearing. She could feel the veins on her face showing, she shouldn't be doing this. This was wrong, this wasn't what she wanted. No, no, no. Elena tried to back away, but Rebekah just laughed and brought the girl even closer to her. This was too overwhelming for Elena, she couldn't take it anymore. She slowly approached her victim, breathing the intoxicating scent of the blood. Just a little taste, she wouldn't kill her, she couldn't kill anybody. Her brain simply shut down, she stopped thinking and before she even realized what was happening, her teeth were deep into the girl's neck.

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_So, that's it for now. Next chapter is longer, considerably longer. So, please I would really love to hear some opinions, feedback will be loved, thank you :) _


	2. What I had become

_Hey, again! First of all I want to say that I am overwhelmed by you, guys! The story got almost 300 hits, a descent amount of people put in in their alerts and some of you even in their favorites. I don't know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't this. I really don't know what to say.. wow, thank you, this is amazing! I would really love it if you spare the time and write your thoughts about this, because I really want to know what you guys think!_

_Now, to the story. I don't know if I am taking this too slow or too fast, it's up to you to decide. This chapter involves quite a lot of DE, so I hope you like it :)_

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Elena's teeth were deep into the young girl's neck. She was drinking lustfully. The feeling she was getting was too hard to describe. It felt like her whole world, all of her problems were slowly fading away, with every sip she got, her mind was becoming more blank, her whole body was trembling with pleasure, all of her attention was focused on the blood that was entering her mouth. Its taste was better than everything she had ever drunk or eaten. It was like a fiest in her own mouth. She needed this feeling to never end, she couldn't stop, and frankly, she didn't want to. But with every second the girl's small body was becoming weaker and weaker in her arms. She felt as it collapsed, and something inside her clicked. The girl was dying, she was killing an innocent human being, a student, probably, who knows if she even had her first prom yet? She was so young, and Elena was taking the life out of her. She pulled her teeth out of the girl's skin and backed away to the wall. It was probably the hardest thing she had ever had to do. Her breathing was coming out in short, heavy breaths. She was still trembeling, but it was not because of the pleasure anymore, she felt afraid.. of herself.

Elena slowly whipped the blood out of her mouth. This couldn't be happening. She had almost killed a human being, she was turning into something, she never thought she would be. A murderer. She could feel her body growing strong again. It was then when she heard a cold, mocking laugh behind her. She turned around and saw Rebekah standing in the exact same spot as she had last seen her.

„Why did you do this to me?", Elena cried, tears were falling from her brown eyes, and rolling down her cheeks.

„I was bored. And it seemed like a funny thing to do. See, I should have killed you a long time ago, stabbing an Original in the back, not a very smart move, but my rigeous brother, of course, had to stop me. What is it with you and vampires, huh? Anyway, now that you would really die, I've decided I want to have a little more fun with you before I stake you myself.", she smirked evily at Elena.

„So, this is all a game to you?", Elena screamed through her sobs. „You just decided to doom me to an eternal misery, because you had nothing better to do?", she was furious. This was too much. She could feel the adrenalin circulating through her body. She ran and pushed the blond vampire with all her strength. Rebekah flew across the room and fell into a bookshelf, knocking it down.

„Oh, you're strong", she whispered, with the same mocking voice. „Don't play with me, little girl, you don't know who you're messing with.", she hissed, and in a blink of an eye she was gone.

Seconds later Damon and Stefan stormed out through door. They needed only seconds to figure everything out. Damon stood there, at the door frame, watcing the chaos inside. Everything was a mess, there were books and blood all over the floor. A dangerously pale-looking girl was lying on the floor, with two big holes on her neck. Elena was staying in the middle of the room, her hair messy, there was blood on her shirt and pants. He watched as she slowly broke down on the floor, took her face in her hands and started crying. He wanted to go there, take her in his arms, and never let her go. He wanted to shield her from the world. She looked so vulnerable like that, hadn't she been through enough already? His heart was aching as he watched her, but he couldn't move. He could hear Stefan talking to her, but he couldn't concentrate enough to actually understand what he was saying. His eyes moved to the blonde girl on the floor and he forced himself to take a step to her. He bit his wrist and forced the blood down to the girl's throat. He didn't know if it was too late, he could only hope that she was still alive. He knew how hard it was to cope with taking a life. Especially the first time.

„...shh, I promise you, I am not going anywhere, everything will be okay.", Damon finally focused enough to hear what his brother was whispering soothingly to Elena.

Elena slowly lifted her head to face him. „Everything will be okay? I probably just killed an innocent girl Stefan, how is that okay? NONE of this is okay. I didn't want that, I didn't want to become a murderer. This is all messed up, and it's definitely NOT okay.", she was screaming, and a fire was dancing in her eyes. Damon had never seen her like that, and despite everything that was happening, he couldn't deny how much he liked this side of Elena, the feisty one, the one that was actually standing up for herself, and was saying what she was really thinking, instead of saying what people expected her to say.

Stefan was as shocked as Damon, and he couldn't even form a proper sentence.

„I.. I.. Okay.. if you want to, if it would make you feel better, I can teach you how to feed on animals?", he suggested in a quiet voice.

Damon laughed coldly.

„Bunnies? Really, Stefan?", he shot his brother a poisonous look. He still couldn't forgive him for letting Elena die. He couldn't accept that he had chosen to respect her wishes in a moment like that, and let her die. Stefan was the main reason they were in this situation right now. He shook his head and continued. „She is young, Stefan, new! She needs human blood, at least at first, then you can teach her all about hunting bamby. People even give their blood voluntary, it's not like she has to kill someone! And there are blood bags, if she's more comfortable like that! Drinking this animal swill will only heighten her thirst in public.", his voice was low and cold.

„I think I'll try Stefan's way first, I just, I can't imagine doing this to another human being. Even drinking it from a bag. It's still human.", she shivered thinking about the blood, the warm and delicious blood that was filling her mouth and making her feel like nothing else mattered in this fucked up world. She shook her head, to make that thought go away. „Okay?", she looked at Damon.

Damon was shocked by the softness in her voice. Just a minute ago she had been screaming frantically at Stefan, and how her voice was calm and relaxing. He turned to face her and their eyes locked. Even when her hair was messy, her clothes were soaked in blood and her eyes were puffed, she still looked beautiful.

Elena's breath stopped as she met his blue gaze. She felt like she could stare at those eyes forever. It was like the ocean was reflected in them, they were gorgoues and you could easily get lost in their beauty, but they were also dangerous.

The girl on the floor started to move slightly, and Elena broke the intense moment between her and Damon, to let out a sigh of relief.

„I better go and take her to the hospital, just to be sure she's okay", Stefan mumbled.

„Yes.", Elena said firmly. „I would do it myself, but..", she put her hand out of the curtain and the sun burned her skin instantly.

Stefan smiled tiredly. „Which reminds me, I have to go talk to Bonnie, we might need another ring.", he gave her a quick kiss on the lips and got out of the house, carrying the girl in his arms. Elena thought this might be pretty difficult for him, he still needed to be careful around blood, and what did she do? She sent him into a house full of injured people.

„He will be okay", Damon's voice came from behind her, as though he had read her mind exactly.

„I hope so", Elena replied. „I feel awful, I am going to go and try to get some sleep"

„Sure, make youself at home. I'll be in my room if there's something you need." Elena nodded and touched his shoulder slightly before heading to the stairs. Her touch sent chills down Damon's whole body. He sighed and went to pour himself a glass of was going to be a long week.

Elena was staring at Stefan's bed, wondering if she should sleep here, or take the guest bedroom. But then, why would she do that? Stefan was her boyfriend, right? She should sleep in his bed.. with him. His bed used to bring her comfort, whenever she felt bad, it didn't matter if he was around or not, she would come and curl up in his bed, breathing his scent and remembering that he would be here soon to take her in his arms. Now, all it brought her were memories of a life, she had left behind – her human life. She decided to go to the bathroom first. She walked down the hallway to get a towel and while she was walking, she couldn't help herself and peeked into Damon's room. He wasn't there yet. Her eyes instantly fixed on the huge bed. It looked so comfortable, and for a moment she let herself imagine what would it be like, to fall asleep in this bed, having not Stefan, but Damon to hold her in his arms. She pictured his strong arms holding her tight as she was peacefully resting her head on his chest. It was getting harder and harder for her to take her eyes off the bed. The sound of a breaking glass, and Damon's voice screaming "Damn it!", was the thing that got her out of her trance. What was she thinking? This was wrong on so many levels. She had already chosen, and it was weird how often she had to remind herself that lately.

In the shower, the memory of Damon's arms and lips wandering all over her body outside of that motel was haunting her. And having him so close to her, just in the other room, didn't help very much. She got out of the shower quickly and decided she was probably just too tired. After a few moments of consideration, she reluctantly crawled into Stefan's bed. The moment her head touched the pillow, she felt her eyes feeling heavy and she fell asleep.

"… _I just can't bring myself to tell him. At least not tonight.__ I'll call you later.", Elena was saying to Bonnie in her phone. She hung up and turned around to find a complete stranger __looking at__ her with wide eyes. He looked so shocked that she thought there was something wrong with her. She shifted uncomfortably._

"_Katherine..", his voice was so low, almost a whisper._

"_Um, no, I am Elena.", she said looking around, thinking he probably wasn't talking to her. But since there was no one else, she assumed it had to be her._

"_Oh.. you just look.. " H__e__ looked incredibly confused. "I am sorry, you just really remind me of someone. I am Damon.", he said cockily, trying to shake from his shock._

"_Not to be rude or anything, Damon, but it's kind of creepy that you're out here in the middle of nowhere.", she said._

"_You're the one to talk.__You're out here all by yourself", he smirked._

"_It's Mystic Falls, nothing bad ever happens here", she replied with a shrug. "I got into a fight with my boyfriend", Elena continued, not knowing why she was trusting a complete stranger with her problems. She just felt this connection to him instantly. _

"_About what, may I ask?"_

"_Life, future, he's got it all mapped out.", she said with a frown._

"_You don't want it?", he asked her._

"_I don't know what I want", she said. This was probably the sincerest thing she had said in a long time._

"_Well, that's not true, you want what everybody wants.", __Damon __continued, with a half-smile._

"_What, mysterious stranger that has all the answers__?__", she smiled back at him, and his smile got even bigger. She couldn't deny how handsome he was. He was older than her,__ definitely,__ but he looked magnificent. And with that cute smile on his face, "I could just eat him up", Elena thought to herself and giggled slightly._

"_Well, let's just say I've been around a long time. I've learn__t__ a few things"_

"_So, Damon, tell me, what is it that I want?", she smiled with the same cocky smile as his own. _

"_You want a love that consumes you", he got closer to her. Now she could see hi__s__ bright blue eyes, perfectly, they were so, very beautiful. "You want passion, and adventure. And even a little danger.", he smirked at her._

"_So, what do you want__?__", __she asked, and __he looked a little confused for a moment. Then they heard a car approaching. "That's my parents.", she said. Not knowing exactly why, she didn't want to leave this stranger. She felt good talking to him. She felt… herself. But when she turned around he had fixed his beautiful eyes o__n __her__s__. _

"_I want you to get everything you're looking for. Right now, I want you to forget that this happened. Can't have people knowing I am in town yet. Goodnight Elena."_

_And in a flash he was gone, and all of her memories of that night had gone with him._

Elena woke up was in a cold sweat. Could this be real? Because it seemed very real to her, she remembered that outfit, she remembered that phone call with Bonnie, because she had been getting over it a thousand times in her head, thinking what would have been different if she hadn't called that night for her parents to pick her up. Because this was the most horrible night in her entire existance. The day she lost the people she loved most. Maybe they would still be alive and breathing somewhere if she just had asked someone else for a ride. Tears filled her eyes, as she quickly got out of bed. She had slept for no more than 30 minutes, but she knew she couldn't get back to sleep. Not after this dream. Stefan wasn't home yet, so Elena put on a dressing gown, since she was only in her underwear, and went silently into Damon's room. She couldn't help but gasp, when she realized that she could see everything perfectly clear, even in the dark. She could see the finest details of the painting on the wall across the room. She hadn't really paid much attention to the burning thirst in her throat, since Rebekah left. She was trying to keep it out of her mind, hoping that by ignoring it, it will go away. Of course she knew she was just kidding herself, but she just didn't have the strength to deal with this right now. When she got to Damon's room the door was slightly open. She opened it and she saw Damon sitting in a chair with bourbon in one hand and book in the other.

"Damon,", Elena started.

"Elena,", Damon said, in a tone similar to hers, not taking his eyes off the book.

"I need to ask you something.", her voice started trembling. What if this was all just a dream and she would make a total fool of herself. For some reason she couldn't explain, she didn't want to disappoint or look stupid in Damon's eyes. She gathered up the courage, took a deep breath, and blurted out. "When was the first time you saw me, talked to me?"

She got his attention. He took his eyes off the book and snapped his head in her direction. His eyes widened, and a look of surprise settled there. Between all the drama with Alaric and Klaus, and Elena becoming a vampire, he had totally forgotten about the 'side effects' of turning. She had caught him completely off guard.

"On the day your parents died. You were at some kind of a party.", he replied quietly, looking directly into her eyes. She knew that whatever happens, Damon would always be honest with her, if she asked him directly, he would always tell her the truth.

"Oh!", she said. She needed to hear it from him, although she knew it was true from the moment she woke up. "But why didn't you tell me?"

"Because it wouldn't change anything, Elena! By the time we 'officially' met, you were head over heels in love with my brother. Telling you this would have just complicated things even more. You got everything you were looking for. Mission accomplished." He motioned to her with his glass.

"Yeah, because things are not complicated right now, huh?", Elena rose her voice.

"Yeah, with all of the Originals and stuff, I guess it's pretty hard to live your happily ever after.", Damon snapped at her.

"Don't pretend like you don't know what I am talking about.", Elena was close to screaming now. She had lost the little bit of self-control she had. In a flash, she was so close to him that their noses were touching. She could feel his breath on her lips. Warmth spread through her whole body. He felt how her body slightly shivered when she touched him. "How do you know I got it? Everything I was looking for?", she hissed at him. They looked at each other for a while, and since Damon couldn't say anything, they just stared into each other's eyes, until Elena realized exactly how close they were and backed off.

"Should I expect more of your little secrets?", she asked him, her voice strangely weak. She had asked just to break the tension, but Damon looked away. "Oh, god, there are more, aren't there?", Elena fell onto the chair next to Damon. She wasn't sure what to expect now, after this, it could be pretty much anything. "Tell me, what is it!"

"I think it's better you see this one for yourself.", he said bitterly, lifting his head and looking her in the eyes again.

It was so big, he couldn't even tell her. Elena felt dizzy. She stood there, lost in her own thoughts. This was too overwhelming for her, everything was happening way too fast. She didn't know what to say so she asked him the first thing that popped into her mind.

"How do you do it?", she asked him quietly.

"How do I do what?", Damon looked confused by the sudden change of the topic.

"How do you live with this every day? How do you wake up every day and try not to kill Stefan for forcing you to turn? How do you live with yourself, after you've killed someone?", her voice trembled and she couldn't stop her tears, they rolled down her cheeks. Damon just looked at her sadly and he brushed away her tears with his thumb, caressing her skin gently.

"I.. want to kill him. I want to get a stake and drive it through his heart every time I think about 1864. But I don't do it. You know why? Because he's my brother. And because I like to use this little trick", he smirked playfully. "I like to imagine killing the people that have pissed me off in my head in the most brutal ways I can think of, so that I wouldn't really snap"

Elena laughed through her tears. He could make her laugh, when she thought she wasn't even able to smile. "This sounds like a good strategy."

"It is", Damon winked at her. "As for the killings..", his face got serious again. "They stay with you, no matter what, even when you try to turn it off, it still sneaks up on you. It's there, always, haunting you.", his bright eyes darkened for a moment.

Elena looked at him, realizing his thumb was still on her face, massaging it lightly.

"I.. should go." , Elena mumbled, although the last thing she wanted was to get in that bed. In Stefan's bed.

Damon just tilted his head and smiled at her cockily.

Elena went back to Stefan's room and curled up in the bed again, afraid of what would happen when she falls asleep again. After some time, she felt how she's drifting away.

_She was in her room, in her PJs, getting out of the bathroom. She walked towards her room, to find Damon standing at the window holding something in his arm. She jumped slightly, a little surprised by his visit, though she should have gotten used to It by now. He looked a little weird, distracted._

"_Cute PJs", he commented. _

"_I am tired, Damon", she tried to cut him off. And she wasn't lying__,__ she felt exhausted._

_He got up and moved closer to her. She finally saw what he was holding. It was her necklace, the necklace that she loved so much, and she thought it was lost forever. _

"_I brought you this", he __smiled __at her with his usual half-smile._

"_I thought that was gone, thank you!", Elena said, surprised. She motioned closer to him and tried to take it, but he didn't give it to her. "Please give it back." There was something wrong here._

"_I just have to say something", Damon told her, looking unusually serious._

"_Why do you have to say it with my necklace?", no, no, no, this couldn't be for good._

_He looked a little off. "Because what I am about to say is probably the most selfish thing I've ever said in my life."_

"_Damon don't go there", Elena tried, realizing where this was heading. _

_He got closer. "I just have to say it once, you just need to hear it. I love you, Elena.", Elena stomach dropped down, she couldn't say a word. She had known Damon has feelings for her, but love wasn't what she had expected even in her wildest dreams. "And it's because I love you that, I can't be selfish with you… Why you can't know this.. I don't deserve you. But my brother does." There were tears in his eyes. Elena was so shocked she couldn't even say a word. "God I wish you didn't have to forget this.", he said looking her right in her big, doe, eyes. "But you do.", a single tear rolled off his eye, and it was simply the most heartbreaking thing Elena had ever seen. And then, just like that, he took all of her memories with him, again. _

"Oh, damn.", Elena said, jumping out of her sleep for the second time this night.

* * *

_I didn't know how exactly to put the flashbacks in the story, but in the end, this is what happened. The next chapter will be more about Elena and her thoughts on the brothers, and a little bit of Caroline and Bonnie, it was real pleasure writing it :D_


	3. A new reality

_I know I've been posting very frequently lately, but I just had the chapter written and I thought there was no point in keeping it to myself. I hope you like it, enjoy :)_

* * *

After a sleepless night, Elena was feeling more confused than ever. Stefan had come back later that evening, but she just couldn't look at him, so she pretended to be asleep. He was now sleeping peacefully next to her, one of his hands was laying on her waist. Meanwhile in Elena's mind everything was a complete mess. She had always thought of Damon as the "unreasonable choice, because this way it was easier for her to put her feelings for him in the corner of her mind and never think twice about it. But after this whole year, after everything he had done for her - being there for her, while she was a total wreck, helping her find Stefan, although it was breaking his heart to watch her love someone else - she couldn't think about him like that anymore. Deep inside, she knew all of that, but somehow she had chosen to ignore it, and now she was feeling very selfish about that. Damon had done nothing, but care for her and protect her, he had waited to make a move on her, and then after she was an absolute bitch, when he told her he loved her, she jumped his bones a couple of weeks later. She had been sending him a bunch of mixed signals, and she was feeling more than guilty about it. Her choice was based on thinking that when she lets him go, she will set him free, but she was lying to herself from the moment she said that on the phone. Now Damon was here, again, protecting her. She loved Stefan, she loved him so much, but she didn't know if this was enough now.

While she was human Stefan was bringing her safety, the feeling that he won't go anywhere, he won't leave as so many people had already left. Now, when she knew she had all the time in the world, she felt like she didn't need that safety anymore, and this was changing everything. And on top of that was Damon's „i love you" speech. Her eyes filled with tears just remembering his heart-breaking confession. He had chosen to let his own happiness aside, so that she and Stefan can be happy together. He had sacrificed his happiness, for her. And Stefan.

Elena looked down at Stefan's arm and she felt as it was burning her skin. But not in the good way, not like when Damon's arms were exploring her body in front of that motel room, and his touch was setting fire all over her skin. Stefan's touch felt.. strange, weird, to her. She slowly moved his hand away and got up. She decided to take another shower, because she felt like it has been years since last night. She got in the shower and left the hot water stream down her body, feeling every muscle relaxing. When she was finally done, she wrapped a towel around herself and got out. Stefan had already got up, and his green eyes wandered down her body as she appeared.

„Good morning.", he greeted her with a smile.

„Hey", she replied, forcing a little grin.

„I've been thinking", he motioned for her to sit on the bed with him. „If you want to I can teach you how to hunt. Today.", he looked a bit nervous.

Elena sat on the corner of the bed, as far from him as possible, ever since last night, she felt it would be wrong of her to make a move on Stefan, to even kiss him, considering that all she could think about was his brother."Um, yes, sure.", she told him, the burning thirst in her throat had gotten more awful, if this was even possible. She got up, and moved to the big wardrobe, wondering what to wear. In the end she chose jeans and a t-shirt.

„Damon went to get your ring.", Stefan commented.

Elena's head snap when she heard his name. „Really, Bonnie made it, that fast?"

„Well, the spell itself is not a difficult one. It was hard finding the rock, but I managed to get it. That's why I was late yesterday."

Elena nodded and let the towel fall from her body. She couldn't miss Stefan's approving growl, and he was next to her in a blink of an eye. He put his hands on her waist again, and gently kissed her neck, moving his hands up and down her naked, wet body. Elena could feel him tightly pressed against her back. He wanted her, badly. She tried to move away from him, but his grip was iron.

„I know you've been through a lot lately.", he whispered in her hair. „So I thought a little distraction would be good for you.". His hands tried to move up to her breasts but Elena pushed him away. „No, Stefan, please, I am not really in the mood for this right now."

He growled but didn't loose his grip in the slightest. „What's happening, Elena? I don't understand. You've been very cold to me ever since the accident. Are you mad at me?", his eyes were piercing into hers.

„No, no, I.. I am not.. It's just, it's been a long week, you know?", she tried to explain herself.

„We've had longer ones, and this never stopped you.", he tried placing a kiss on her lips, but Elena moved her head. He finally let her go and asked her in a quiet voice. „This is about Damon, isn't it?"

„It's not like that." , she rolled her eyes, looking everywhere but at him. „It's complicated."

„You can't even bring yourself to deny it, Elena!", he screamed and Elena jumped, she had never seen him screaming at her. „I thought when you chose me.. I thought this was all over, how stupid of me, huh? It will_ never_ be over, he's gotten to you, and we will never be the same while he is here." He punched the wall and made a big hole in it. Elena was beginning to get really scared now. „He was supposed to leave town, you chose me, he was supposed to get away!", he continued screaming. Elena backed away to the wall. „He should leave. I.. I will make him leave, and everything between us will be okay again, you just need a little time away from him. Maybe we should go somewhere?", he was sounding like a mad man.

„What are you talking about? I am not going anywhere, and neither is Damon!", she rose her voice to him. The thought of Damon leaving made her heart ache, and anger spread through her body. She couldn't imagine her life without him. Not anymore.

„What?", Stefan looked at her in disbelief. „ _You chose me._", he told her again, emphasising on every word. „You said, you wanted to be with me.", his voice was so low, almost a whisper.

„I.. Things changed.", she sighed, not knowing how to put into words everything she had learnt about Damon and his little secrets.

„It's been a week, Elena. A fucking week, how much can change for a week?"

„I can change.", she said quietly.

Stefan couldn't believe his ears. He wasn't used to being the second choice.

„I need some time alone, Stefan. I think I'll go to the guest bedroom.", she said, putting her underwear on, and then her jeans and t-shirt.

„Why not go to Damon's bedroom instead? He has already got into your head, getting into your pants would just be a formality.", he spat at her.

Elena gasped and slapped him as hard as she could. „You know _nothing _about my relationship with Damon. Do you got it? NOTHING!", she screamed in his face. „And don't bother taking me to hunt. I will ask Caroline to do it.", she said coldly and exited the room, slamming the door behind her.

This was way too much. Has she really just broken up with Stefan? For Damon? She was sure of one thing - Stefan had crossed the line. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she lied in the big bed in the guest room. She was so absorbed in her sobs that she didn't even heard Damon going up the stairs. She noticed him when he was at the door.

„Hey, the witch-bitch needed a little more time to finish the spell, and I had to wait. I swear this girl is creepy. Nevermind, I brought you the-", he stopped seeing her expression and her puffed eyes. „Hey, what's going on?", he asked concerned. He had seen her cry a lot these days and he didn't like it. He wanted her to be happy, more than anything in the world.

„I... Stefan.. He...", Elena was sobbing so violently she couldn't explain what was happening. Anger spread through Damon's body, he clenched his fists. Was Stefan responsible for the mess she was right now? He was ready to storm out of the room and go teach his brother a lesson, but seeing his expression and his clenched fists, Elena blurted out, before even thinking twice about it. „Please, don't go there, Damon. Please. Stay here, with me.", Damon relaxed a little bit hearing her request, he couldn't leave her now.

He moved closer and sat on the bed next to her.

„Did Stefan do something to you?", he asked, knowing his brother would never hurt her, but he had to ask.

„No! No.", Elena sobbed. „It was more of the other way around.", she managed to say through her tears, before she put her hands on her face and started crying even more.

„Don't... Elena...", Damon didn't know what to say. He wasn't exactly the best person to talk to in this situation. He moved closer to her, very uncertain of his next step. He took her in his arms and pressed her firmly to his chest. He had expected her to push him away and start yelling at him, but instead she just curled up in him, like she never wanted to let go. „Cry it out.", Damon told her quietly.

They sat there, like that, while Elena kept sobbing quietly in his arms. She didn't know exactly why she was crying. For breaking up with Stefan, or because she was getting certain with every minute that she had made the wrong choice. Being here, like that, in Damon's arms, it felt right. She felt like she belonged there, with this man. Just sitting there, in silence, was perfectly enough for her. Even without words he was able to understand what she needed the most. She needed peace, not someone to talk to, she needed this.

After some time Damon told her quietly. „You need to eat. You must be starving. Do you want me to go get you a blood bag?"

She was starving, indeed. She couldn't describe how hungry she was. But she refused to drink human blood for now.

„I called Caroline, she'll be here soon to teach me how to hunt, since Stefan...", she muffled in her cries again.

„Okay.", this was all Damon said to her.

„Thank you", Elena whispered breaking the silence again.

„For what?"

„For being there. And not just now. You've been there for me so many times.", she snuggled in his chest.

„Always.", he told her softly. He couldn't take his eyes off the precious creature in his arms.

The ringing of her phone broke the intimate moment between them. Elena, considerably calmer now, picked up her phone to see the caller ID: Caroline.

„Hey, Care!", she greeted.

„Hey! How are you? Probably very hungry? I'll be there to pick you up in an hour! And then we're going to a bar, Bonnie and I are dying to see you.", she told her happily over the phone. She wouldn't admit it to Elena, but Caroline was very happy that Elena turned. She knew how hard it was for her, but she didn't want to lose her best friend, and if that made her selfish, she was okay with it.

„Are you sure this is a good idea? Me, in a bar? With.. people?", Elena shivered slightly in Damon's arms.

„Absolutely. You're in the company of a powerful witch, who can put you down in a number of seconds and your vampire friend, who can kick your ass a little if you become naughty.", Elena could imagine Caroline's little smirk right now. „What's the worst thing that can happen?"

Still a little uncertain, Elena finally agreed. „Okay, see you in an hour then.", she told her and hung up.

„I better leave you to it, then.", Damon told her.

„Yes...", Elena said, not wanting to let him go. They stood like that for a little while, then Elena got up, and Damon smirked at her and left the room.

„What on earth did you just do, Elena?", she thought to herself, while she was trying to apply a little make up to hide the redness of her face.

An hour later, Elena was out, and Damon got downstairs to pour himself a glass of bourbon. What had happened this afternoon? What had gotten into Elena? He shook his head. She did this every time, she gave him a little something to believe in, and then she backed away. He had already gone down this path, and it wasn't very pleasant. It was always going to be Stefan, he reminded himself.

„Oh, look, who's here?", his little brother's voice was coming from behind him. His hair was a mess, his expression was weird. And the smell that was coming off of him beat even Damon's in his worst drinking days. He was drunk, or more like wasted. „Are you done comforting _my girlfriend?"_

„Stefan, please, I am not in the mood to do this, go sleep it off or something.", Damon told him.

„Nobody seems to be in the mood today.", he laughed coldly."Did you manage to fuck her already, or were you waiting for me to come back, so that it would be more glorious?", he snapped at him.

Damon clenched his fists. „Don't talk about Elena like that, ever.", he growled threateningly to him. His brother had done a lot of screw ups lately, and it was taking a great effort from Damon to not smash his fists into Stefan's face.

„Why not? Katherine did that. And by the looks of things, Elena is not much different.", In a flash, Damon punched his brother, hard. He knew that Stefan didn't mean what he just said, but he couldn't take it anymore.

Stefan just laughed. „Look who's turned into her white knight."

That was it. Damon snapped.

„You want to know something?", he snapped at his brother. „It would have never come to this, if you had the balls to disrespect Elena's wishes, for once, and saved her. But you're so afraid of her hating you, that you've turned into a coward. Or have you always been one? _You let her die_, Stefan! So don't you dare give me moral lessons. Things are like that because of you. So you deserve everything that you're getting!", he screamed at him.

The moment he said it, he saw the guilt creeping into Stefan's eyes. He didn't have the time or the strength to deal with him right now.

„I am going out.", Damon said, took his leather jacket and slammed the front door behind him.

* * *

Elena's hunt had gone well. She had managed to catch a couple of bunnies and this made the fire in her throat calm down a little. It was still pretty awful, but a bit better than before, she had no idea how Stefan lived on this. Stefan. She shook her head and put the thought in the corner of her mind. This night wasn't about Stefan or Damon. It was about her and her friends. She was now standing on the bar, drinking vodka - she found alcohol pretty helpful with her thirst, while Caroline and Bonnie watched her with their mouths open.

„You _broke up with_ Stefan?", Bonnie gasped, putting her hand on her mouth.

„I thought you chose him!", Caroline stared at her in disbelief. „How, when, why? Details", she demanded.

„I really don't want to talk about it right now. It has been a long day. It was just.. we are not on the same page.", she mumbled the first reason that popped into her mind, because the truth was, even she didn't know why exactly they had broken up.

„Oh my god, this is about Damon, isn't it?", Caroline looked at her in suspicion.

„No! Maybe! I don't know, okay?", she told them, this was exactly the topic she wanted to avoid. „Another big vodka, please?", she motioned to the bartender. „Can we just not talk about this right now?"

„Okay", Caroline and Bonnie agreed pretty fast, and she was very grateful to them. They understood that she was very confused right now, and had to sort this out by herself.

„How are you, guys?", Elena tried to keep the conversation going.

„Well you know, bad, with the whole Tyler/Klaus story, it's been pretty intense.", Caroline said.

„Tyler/Klaus, what are you talking about?" , Elena's eyes widened in shock.

„Didn't Damon and Stefan told you?", now it was Caroline's turn to stare at her, surprised.

„Around the whole turning thing, and.. well, me and Stefan breaking up, I guess it just slipped their minds." Elena shrugged, still in disbelief. She thought Klaus had died.

„Okay, then.. Well,for some unknown reason, Klaus had took over Tyler's body. So, he was technically not dead, that's why we're all alive.", Caroline summed it up.

„What?", Elena couldn't believe her ears. „Klaus took over Tyler's body.. Like he possessed him or something?", this was getting way too overwhelming. „And what do you mean by he _was _technically not dead?"

„Well, we're not sure why it was Tyler's body and how exactly it had happened. Bonnie suggested that since Tyler was his first hybrid they have some weird connection or something, even though Tyler broke their bond.", Caroline explained, while Bonnie just shifted uncomfortably in her seat. There was something weird about her, but Elena couldn't put her finger on it „And as for „was"... Well, he got his body back."

„WHAT?", she had been gone for less than a week, how could so many things have happened in the meantime. „Damon told me his body was burnt."

„Um, well, it wasn't... exactly. It turns out he got a witch to spell him a long time ago, so if somebody made an attempt to kill him, his body would be preserved. I didn't quite get that.", she said, a little confused.

„How do you even know all that?", Elena gasped, still in shock.

„He told me.", Caroline blushed. „Don't get me wrong, I am furious and I hate him, but we needed the information, so I had to. Don't judge."

„So where is he now, how is Tyler?", Elena's questions kept flowing out of her mouth.

„He got out of town. No one knows where he is, or what he is up to.", Caroline shrugged. „As for Tyler...", her eyes filled with tears."I thought he died, Elena. It was so awful, he was in so much pain. But then, something happened, one moment he was laying on the floor, not moving, and the next one he suddenly woke up, but he wasn't himself. The bastard tried to fool me, but what he didn't know was that I know Tyler better than I know myself, I could tell this wasn't _my_ Tyler from the moment he woke up. When I figured out what was happening, I couldn't believe it. I guess it's a good thing that Klaus has a soft spot for me, otherwise we would have never gotten the information.", she blushed again. "Now... Tyler's alive. He has a pulse, and he breaths, but he wouldn't wake up.", Caroline tried to hide her tears, but they kept coming. „I don't know what to do anymore, Bonnie is trying something with herbs. I need to give it to him on the next full moon. So now, we're waiting."

Elena got closer to her friend and hugged her, she didn't know what else to do. After a while, she decided it was time to break the awful silence. „So.. Bonnie, how have you been? You're so quiet tonight.", Elena asked her.

„I've been.. okay. A little tired, I guess.", she told them, taking a sip of her cocktail. „To be honest, Jamie is the only thing that is keeping me sane now. Everything is too messed up. Now that I mentioned him, he should be here soon to pick me up", she smiled goofily to her friends. She really liked him, Elena thought.

„I need a little air.", Elena said, drinking her whole glass in one sip.

She got out and started breathing. In and out. In and out. She kept doing this, but her nerves just wouldn't calm down. Her drama with the Salvatores wasn't enough, and now Klaus was free and running again? When would there be some peace in her life, for a change? She started to get angry and she didn't know why. She saw someone standing on the corner in the end of the street. From here she could hear the strong heartbeat. She imagined the taste of blood in her mouth, and how awful the rabbit had tasted in comparison to the human. She remembered the feeling of freedom it gave her. She wanted it again, she needed to not think and feel again, just for a little while. She just wanted a little taste. It was dark outside and nobody would see anything. Just a taste, she thought again. She ran with her new vampire speed, it was still very weird to her, but she liked it, it made her feel powerful. The moment she got close to him, she knew there wasn't any turning back. She could see the pulsating veins on his neck. Her face changed and she sunk her teeth into the boy. She kept on drinking and drinking, enjoying the power and ecstasy the blood was giving her. She felt the same feeling of freedom hitting her again, and she couldn't and she wouldn't let it go. She felt his body weakening in her grip, but this time it didn't mattered. She wanted everything. To the last drop. The body collapsed in her hands, as she kept sucking.

Moments later, two strong hands caught her. They took her away from her little heaven, and no matter how hard she was fighting them, they wouldn't let her go.

The body fell on the ground and she finally saw his face. Jamie. Her whole world spun around before her, and she broke down into the arms that were holding her.

* * *

_This is not the last of SE we're seeing, I can't just leave them like that, but they're over, as long as Elena is concerned, I can tell you that. The next chapter will be all Delena :))_


	4. Revelations

_Here it goes, this chapter as I promised - entirely DE centered. I started a new story, btw, it's DE again, but it's completely AU, since I am not really feeling this one lately. You can check it out if you want to :) Anyway, i hope you like this chapter :)_

_Btw, I just really can't proof read right now, since my eyes hurt, so I am apologizing in advance if there are some mistakes. _

* * *

She wanted to die. She felt like her whole world has just collapsed in front of her. Had she really just fed on her best friend's boyfriend? The one that she really liked? She just wanted to crawl into a hole and never get out of there. She slowly relaxed and her body started to tremble from her violent sobs. The hands that were holding her had iron grip, they never released her even for a second. She turned her head up to face whoever had just stopped her. Her eyes locked with the piercing blue ones. She knew who it was even without looking at his face, one look at this beautiful blue gaze was enough. He took her in his arms and stood up.

„Damon!", she cried, her whole body shaking. „I don't know what happened.. I.. I didn't want.. I didn't mean to.. It just happened... Jamie... He was just there.. He just stood there... And his heartbeat was so.. Oh my god, what did I do?", she wrapped her hands around his neck, more and more tears rolling down her cheeks. She rested her head on the crook of his neck. „Damon..", her silent cries kept echoing in the dark.

Damon didn't say anything. He started walking, but her desperate scream stopped him.

„We can't just leave him there!", she yelled.

„There's nothing we can do about him, Elena.", Damon's voice was low, almost a whisper.

„What do you mean, there's nothing we can do? Give him your blood, call an ambulance, we have to do something!", her eyes wandered over the lifeless body before her, fear taking over her face. „Damon, please!"

„He's dead, Elena. You drank too much, he didn't have enough blood in his system for his body to function. He was dead when I pulled you away from him, I couldn't hear a heartbeat."

If two minutes ago she wanted to die, she didn't know how to express what she was feeling now. It was like a big, aching hole had settled in her heart, and she couldn't fill it no matter how hard she tried. She had just killed a human being, and to make matters even worse, this human being was her best friend's boyfriend. How could she do that? Her mind was a mess, her body refused to obey her, she was entirely dependable on the blue-eyed man that was holding her. She didn't even protested when he started moving again and put her in his car.

„Wait...", she said in a husky voice. „Bonnie.. I have to tell Bonnie, she.. she was waiting for him, what will happen when.. when she finds out that.. that Jamie's.. ", her cry muffled the rest of her sentence.

„You _don't have_ to tell Bonnie right now. Look at you, you're a mess. It's better if you don't talk to anyone right now.", he told her, starting the car. „Give me your phone."

„What? Why?", she asked, wondering how her phone was connected to all of this.

„I will sent a text to Caroline, saying you went home, because you were feeling overwhelmed around so many people. It will be one thing less for them to worry about. When they find Jamie, she would want to focus all her attention on him. And the witch. ", he explained, irritated. „Now give me that phone.", his voice was demanding.

Elena handed him the phone reluctantly and she saw him typing something, but she couldn't see what exactly, he was keeping the phone under a weird angle so that she couldn't understand what the text said. After that he turned her phone off and put it in his pocket. Then he started the car and drove in an insane speed. Elena didn't mind the high speed, she didn't mind anything right now, she felt so awful she just wanted to disappear off the planet. Every time she tried to close her eyes, Jamie's body appeared before her. His eyes, widened in shock, were piercing into her.

They drove for a while, going further and further away from the town. When they entered some unknown woods, she found the strength and asked:

„Where are we going?"

„You'll see", this was all Damon told her. She wondered how he was managing to drive the car through all that mud and trees. She could see the branches of the trees smashing into the car, but Damon kept driving anyway. They stood in silence for a little more time, and then Damon stopped the car. She got out of it, not asking anymore questions. She trusted him.

After walking for twenty minutes, she saw the outlining of a small house in front of them. Watching closely with her new, and improved vision, she saw it was very old, stone house. The roof was still covering the house, but it was like it was standing there by magic. Elena thought that the slightest wind would probably blow it away. The windows were dirty, it was obvious no one had been here for a long time.

„I figured the mansion wasn't a good place for you to be right now. Stefan's there and he's a little... off. It's best for you not to see him like that.", Damon commented, while they were getting closer to the house.

„What's this place?", Elena asked in wonder. He pushed the door open for her, and she saw what it was inside. It was basically one big room, divided in two by a septum. The little room was a kitchen. It had a table and two chairs. There were some plates, and something that resembled a cook, but she was pretty sure she had never seen something like that.

The bigger room had one big bed, a sofa and two armchairs. Next to one of the walls, against the bed, was a big fireplace. It was nothing much, but Elena loved it instantly. It was cosy and remote, and although it seemed like it could do with a little cleaning, it was everything she was looking for right now.

Damon watched her reactions carefully, and he couldn't help but smile a little, when he saw how her face lit up.

„My mom used to take me here, when I was a kid.", he told her quietly.

„I can see why. This place is quiet and remote, but cosy. It's the perfect place if you want some alone time. But I thought your mom died young. Stefan said he barely remembered her.", Elena was carefully choosing her words, she didn't want to offend him or anything.

„She did", Damon said, trying to hide the bitterness in his voice. „From fever. Stefan was five when It happened, I think. I was twelve. She was the most amazing woman I have ever known.", he said, a look of nostalgia creeping into his eyes.

Elena had never heard him talk about his mother. She knew he wasn't very fond of his father, but neither him nor Stefan ever brought up the subject about their other parent.

„Tell me more about her", Elena asked softly, as Damon took out a blanked and put it on the bed, so they could sit there. She didn't even noticed he was holding one. Talking to him made her forget about the awful thing she had done, for a moment.

„She used to sing to me, a lot. I loved her voice, it was so soft, and it always made me feel better.", his beautiful eyes became unfocused, and his gaze was distracted, like he was picturing everything in his mind. „She also used to tell me stories and talk to me about what a naughty child I was", he smirked. „But she was never really angry at me, I was getting myself in trouble every day, but she would just smile warmly and try to talk some sense into my head, when we both knew she was wasting her efforts.", his smile was still on his face, and this was one of the few genuine smiles she had ever seen on his face.

„She does sound amazing", Elena smiled weakly.

„Yeah.. unlike my father, she actually gave a crap about me.", Damon's expression suddenly changed when he started talking about his father. His smile faded and his eyes focused on her.

„What was your father like?", Elena asked, sitting on the bed.

„He was.. the exact opposite of my mother.", he replied. „He wanted me to be his perfect son. I disappointed him quite a lot there.", he continued, a cold smile flashing on his face. „Like I said, I was a very naughty child, and ever since I turned five, he wanted me to help him with some stuff, he paid the best teachers in town to educate me, but I just wasn't interested. I was five, all I wanted to do was to ride horses and get myself into trouble."

Elena smiled, picturing a mini Damon, riding a horse and doing stupid things.

„I actually understood everything my teachers were saying, I just didn't do my assignments, and I was usually late for my lessons, so they kept complaining to my father. And then he would come and he would punish me.", his eyes darkened. Elena felt really bad for him, but she left him go on, this was one of the most sincere talks she had ever had with him, and she didn't want to interrupt the moment. „Since nothing changed for a year, he decided that I wouldn't change at all and I was not worthy of taking over the business when I was older. So, when I was six, I could hear my father begging my mother every night to have another child. For some unknown reason, my mother only wanted to have one child, but eventually she cracked. And so, Stefan was born."

Elena's eyes teared up again, this was so awful.

„He was the child he had been waiting for. He was perfect, he never got himself into trouble, he was doing everything dad wanted from him. Even though I knew my father intended to leave the business to my brother, I didn't mind. I actually understood that Stefan was born to do this, he had the natural sense for business. And he was actually a very good brother to me, we had awesome times together, I was the reckless one, and he was the responsible one. We made a pretty good combination. My mother was very happy to see us supporting each other. ", he stopped for a second.

„But then, it was pretty hard for an eleven year old boy to be neglected by his father, so whenever I felt bad my mom used to bring me here, and we would have the time of our lives, it was our little secret. No one knew about this place, except me and my mom. Not even Stefan. I loved coming here, but after she died, I stopped. I've been here one or two times after that. I think you can see this by the look of it.", he said, sitting in the bed next to her.

„Damon.. I am so sorry.", she didn't know what else to say. She felt honoured that he chose to bring her here.

„Don't be.", he told her. „Without everything that I've been through I wouldn't be the person I am now."

They stood there, in silence for a little while, until Elena came up with a question, trying to keep her mind off Jamie.

„Damon, how did you managed to hold me? I was fighting really hard.", she asked quietly.

Damon's expression froze for a moment, before he answered in a cool voice.

„I am older than you."

„Yes, I know that, but I had just fed. With a fresh blood.", she continued stubbornly. There was something wrong here, she could say.

Damon decided she wouldn't let it go, and it was better if he just told her the truth.

„What exactly do you know about how you turned?", he asked her, locking his eyes with hers.

„Well.. I know I didn't have a concussion, as told Jeremy, I had bleeding in the brain, and she had to give me vampire blood to save my life.", she said, trying not to squeal under his intense gaze.

„Do you know whose blood it was?", he asked her again, a little more demanding.

„No, not really. I haven't thought about it, to be honest. ", she told him, remembering just now, that it had to be someone's blood that turned her. She guessed around all the drama she had forgotten to ask whose it was.

„It was my blood, Elena.", he told her quietly, not taking his eyes off her. He wanted to see her reaction. She gasped, her mouth was open, her eyes wide in disbelief.

„Your blood? But.. how?" she asked, confused.

„A while ago, Meridith drugged me, and took my blood. She said she didn't like it when people were dying, so she was cheating. I guess she's a sore loser.", he tried to make a joke.

„Sooo..", Elena said, not knowing what this meant exactly.

„So, your blood knows my blood. That's why you couldn't get free from my grip. You can't beat me. Not now, not ever."

„Oh..", she replied, no words seem to be able to get out of her mouth. „But why didn't you tell me?"

„I just thought it didn't matter.", he said with a shrug.

„You thought it didn't matter? Really, Damon? It didn't matter whose blood turned me? Come on!", she rose her voice, what was it about this man that could drive her crazy in a number of seconds. „It didn't matter like when you made me forget you said I love you?", she snapped at him.

She knew she was playing dirty. She saw the shock on his face as soon as she said it

„Yes,", he just said. „You remembering this, wouldn't have changed anything, as well as knowing it was my blood which turned you."

„Are we seriously playing this game again?", she screamed. „It would have changed a lot Damon!"

„And what exactly?", he told her, looking right in her eyes. She had managed to piss him off as well. „Tell me, Elena, what? Would my magical love confession suddenly made you leave Stefan, and come rushing in my arms?", she could see the fire in his eyes.

„No but..", she started.

„There's no but."

„Why don't you let people see the real you? Why do you keep hiding behind compulsions, sarcastic smiles and comments?"

„Because it's easier.", Damon said, looking away for the first time.

„Yeah, it is.", Elena said bitterly. „If I had remembered those things, everything between us might have been different now."

„Come on, Elena, let's not lie to ourselves. Nothing would be different. It's always gonna be Stefan, how many more times do you have to say this to me, before I get it?", he said, not being able to hide his pain.

Before she even knew what she was doing, she was on his lap, looking right at his bright, blue eyes.

„Remember what I told you, on the phone that night? I told you _I can't think about always._ But now I have it, I have all the time in the world on my side, and I am not sure It's Stefan who I want to spend it with.", she said in one breath. She examined his face for reaction. His eyes widened in surprise when he heard this. His brain had stuck, having her on top of him like that, it was hard to focus.

Elena smiled to herself as she felt his raging hard-on pressed to her core. She leaned down to kiss him. The moment her lips found his, she felt the tingling sensation in her stomach she was always feeling when they were kissing. She intended the kiss to be kind and soft, but instead his lips crashed into hers hungrily. His tongue demanded access to her mouth and she opened it slightly. Their tongues were entangling together, exploring every corner of their mouths, causing her to moan. She didn't know when they had laid on the bed, their kiss was full of so much passion and desire, it made her forget everything around her. Their lips were a perfect match, almost like they had been made for each other. She felt as he pulled her away, and she could see how much this cost him.

„What's going on?", Elena said in confusion. „I can feel that you want me.", she said, and her hand started rubbing his manhood slightly through his jeans. She chuckled, as she heard the little moan, that escaped from his mouth.

It took all the strength Damon had to say the next words:

„I want you.", he hissed at her. „I want you more than I have ever wanted somebody. I want you so much it hurts me. Literally. But it's not just about the sex, Elena. I've had plenty of it." His eyes gleamed. „I want more. And „not sure if Stefan's the one I want to spend the eternity with" is not good enough for me. I need you to be completely sure that this is what you want, I don't want you waking up tomorrow and regretting this."

Elena climbed off of him and lied on the bed. He was right, of course he was right. What had gotten into her? How it happened that it was Damon Salvatore who stopped this and not her?

„I am sorry.", she said.

„You don't have to be sorry for anything.", his voice was soft. „I just want you to be sure this is what you want." He couldn't tell her the other reason he turned her down. He couldn't accept another rejection. He couldn't bare the thought of waking up tomorrow and seeing the regret in her eyes. He just couldn't take it. He got up and headed to the door.

„Where are you going?", Elena's voice sounded almost desperate.

„I need to take a little walk. It will be best if we are not in the same room right now.", he told her looking in her doe eyes.

„But you'll be back, right?", she asked him, not being able to hide her desperation this time. He couldn't leave her here, right?

„Yes, but it will be better if you're asleep when I do. We're going to spent the night here, I would have slept somewhere else, but as you can see the house doesn't have many beds.", he responded, his voice strangely distant.

„Okay", Elena told him. Being here alone was the last thing she wanted, but she knew how much it cost him to do this, and keeping him here would just be wrong of her.

He got out, and Elena was left alone with her thoughts. The things she had been trying to ignore for the past hours came rushing back to her. She pictured Jamie's body again, so lifeless and pale. Had she really done this? Had she really took a human life? And what would she tell Bonnie? If Elena knew one thing, before she turned, it was that she wasn't capable of hurting a human being. Now her image of herself was shattered into pieces. Who was she?

She shifted uncomfortably in the bed, trying to get some sleep, but every time she closed her eyes, either Jamie or Damon came up in her mind. Elena's lips were still slightly swallowen from that kiss. She could still feel his taste on her mouth, and his muscular body below her. If someone had told her a month ago, that she would break up with Stefan, and dream about Damon, she would probably laugh at them. But this wouldn't be sincere. Even then she knew there was something between her and Damon and now she had blown off every chance of exploring it. She just couldn't help herself, every time he was close to her, she could feel the electricity between them, it was taking her a great deal of effort not to rip his clothes off every time she saw him. And after she turned, these needs became even stronger, if that was possible.

After , what she thought was about an hour, Damon came back. Elena stood with her eyes shut, pretending to be asleep, as she felt him laying on the bed next to her. He laid on the opposite corner of the bed. They stood like that, backs facing each other, heads turned to the wall. There was a little distance separating them, but Elena felt like it was more of an ocean. She wanted to reach out for him, but she couldn't. After some time, she finally managed to get a little sleep.

Her eyes were heavy and her head was pounding. Was it normal having headache when you were a vampire? She shifted in her place, before realizing she has been sleeping onto someone's chest. Her eyes flew open, and she found herself in Damon's arms again. It looked like at some time during the night, they had found their way towards each other. Damon's arm was laying peacefully on her waist, their legs were entangled. She didn't feel the need to push Damon's hand away, like she had with Stefan's. His touch felt familiar to her, it felt right. She lifted her head to look at him. He looked so peaceful, sleeping, his features looked softer, he looked... human, Elena thought, feeling the slight movement of his chest as he was breathing. She was gazing at him, when she felt him slightly moving underneath her. She tried to move away, but his grip told her to stay where she is. His eyes opened slowly and she could them - blue and more beautiful than ever. She couldn't help how much they reminded her of the ocean.

„Good morning", he said sleepily.

„Good morning.", Elena replied. „I.. I just woke up, I don't know how we ended up.. like this.", she stammered.

„It's okay Elena", he smiled playfully at her. „I don't mind."

„But yesterday you said..?", she looked at him confused.

„I know what I said, but I was frustrated. What I meant was that you have to choose, Elena, seriously this time, because we can't keep making out in front of a crappy motels or in old houses.", he smiled vaguely at her.

„I know that, I know it.", Elena replied, trying to convince herself more than him. „It's just, it's not an easy decision, you know? I just need some time to decide, and to finally let go of my past.", she told him.

„Okay, I understand. You need time, I will give you time. Just don't make me wait too long. You know, there is a line of women waiting for my attention.", he winked at her devilishly. Elena smacked him on the arm playfully and smiled at him.

They stood there, like that for a while, until Damon said:

„I've got you a treat.", he smirked.

He got up, went to the table and handed her a blood bag.

„No!", Elena said, finding it extremely difficult to take her eyes off the bag. At least she couldn't smell it, because then, she wouldn't be able to resist. „I don't want this, Damon, please, I told you."

„And do you remember what I told you.", he looked at her like he was looking at a student, who had just been caught cheating. „Drinking that animal swill will only heighten your thirst in public, and was I right?", he asked her in the same tone.

„Yes, you were, but..", Elena tried to protest.

„No but! Do you want the little accident from yesterday to happen again?"

„No", Elena mumbled.

„Then drink!", he commanded.

She pouted at him and took the bag. When she started drinking, the familiar sensation filled her whole body. There was nothing, absolutely nothing that could be compared to this. The blood finished way too soon, and she looked at Damon in anticipation. He had just drank his blood bag as well, and he just laughed at her expression.

„No more, enough for now.", he told her, not even trying to suppress his laughter. „We don't want another ripper in this town."

„Okay", she pouted at him again, knowing he was right.

„When did you even got those?", she asked.

„Yesterday, when I was out. Vampire speed plus time equals a lot of possibilities.", he smirked. „Now, we have to go, get your stuff, and we're leaving.", Damon told her in the same commanding voice.

„Do we have to?", she asked him, her voice sounding a lot more high-pitched than she wanted. The thought about facing Bonnie and everyone else was making her stomach do weird things.

„Yes, we do, otherwise, Stefan would actives the whole town to look for you.", Damon said.

„Didn't you call him, told him I was with you?", Elena asked, surprised.

„Well.. this wouldn't have been the best idea at the time. Don't ask.", he responded.

She didn't ask, simply because she felt she didn't want to know.

„Let's go then.", she said, feeling her stomach drop.

They got to the car in silence, and once they were out of the woods, Damon handed Elena her phone, and she turned it on. 17 new messages. „Great", she thought.

All of them were either from Bonnie, Caroline or Stefan.

„_Elena, where on Earth, are you, I've been calling you for the past 5 hours." – Stefan_

„_Elena, we need to talk, please, I know you're angry at me." – Stefan_

„_Elena, we need you, please, something happened, I can't tell you over the phone, you need to be here as soon as possible" – Caroline_

„_Elena, we really need to talk" – Stefan_

„_Pick up that damn phone, Elena." - Caroline_

„_I really need my best friend right now." – Bonnie_

The last text made her heart ache and she stopped reading. She had no idea how she would tell Bonnie it was her, that killed her boyfriend.

„Shit.", Elena mumbled, and tears filled her eyes again.


End file.
